


Becoming Me: Eliot's Freshman Year

by Highkingeliot



Category: The Magicians (TV), The Magicians - Lev Grossman
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-03
Updated: 2019-01-03
Packaged: 2019-10-03 19:17:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 13,470
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17289848
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Highkingeliot/pseuds/Highkingeliot
Summary: A look at Eliot's freshman year at Brakebills.My work for The Welter's Challenge Trials.





	Becoming Me: Eliot's Freshman Year

“What the fuck?” He yelled as he came crashing to the floor, falling out of a doorway.

He heard the clacking of shoes coming down the hall and looked up to see shiny black leather shoes, a tailored navy blue suit and a dark skinned man walking towards him. 

As he got closer the man slowed his pace slightly. 

“Eliot Waugh?” He stopped in front of the man splayed on the floor. 

“Yeah?” He slowly stood up and tried to dust himself off. 

“You’re late, follow me.” The man continued walking almost militantly. He had his hands clasped behind his back and silently led Eliot down a hall. 

“What is this….I mean… Where am I?”

“This is Brakebills.” The older man said so matter of fact. 

“Uhhh…” Eliot started as the man continued his pace without so much as looking back to make sure Eliot was following him. 

“It will all be explained. Here.” He stopped and gestured towards the door. 

“What?....” Eliot stopped mid thought and looked around and saw other people sitting in chairs in a lecture hall type room. 

“Please.” The man ushered Eliot into the room. 

Eliot slowly walked in and found a place to sit. There was a small book and a pencil sitting in front of him. He looked down and tried to brush more of the dirt off his pants. 

“Damn farm.” He murmured under his breath. 

The man stood in front of the room and cleared his throat. 

“Hello all. I am Dean Henry Fogg, you may call me Dean. You will have an hour to complete the test before you. When I say so, you may begin your exam.”

Eliot looked around at the other people in the room.

“Uh…” Eliot started.

Dean Fogg just held up his hand. 

“No questions. You may begin.” He sat down on the stairs of the small stage. 

Eliot slowly opened the book in front of him and began reading the first question. 

He let out a sigh. “I don’t get this….” He whispered to himself. He closed his eyes and slowly opened them, looking down at the book again. The letters started floating and changing before his eyes and became a new set of questions. 

“What the…?” The questions changed again. “shit.” 

Dean Fogg cleared his throat. Eliot looked up to see Fogg looking at him. Eliot looked away and looked back at his book. 

He started reading the questions and it was stuff he knew. He started writing before the questions could change again. 

He went to the next question and knew that one too. It was like the test was personalized to stuff he knew. 

He finished and quietly walked up to the front of the room to turn the book in. He looked around and saw there were several that finished before he did. 

“I hope that doesn’t mean I failed.” He thought to himself. 

“Report to this room for the next part of your test.” The guy handed him a card and he slowly took it. 

“Um, thanks.” He slowly walked out of the room and down the hall. He looked at all the labels by the doors to find where he had to go. He found the room and walked in. 

He was the only one there. He looked around and after a few moments, sat down in one of the chairs. 

After a few minutes Dean Fogg walked in. 

“Eliot.” 

“Yes?”

“Congratulations. You passed the first part of the exam.” He said as he took a seat behind a large desk. 

“Thank you.” Eliot almost mumbled.

“Now for the second part.” 

“Ok.” 

“Show me some magic.” 

“What?”

“Magic.” He gestured to give Eliot permission to take the floor.

“Magic….ok… um…” Eliot frantically looked around the room. He had never done a magic trick in his life. He tried to think of something he could do. He felt a coin in his pocket and hid it in his hand. 

He walked over to the Dean.

“Ok, magic…” he put his hand behind the dean’s head.

“Eliot.”

“What’s this behind your ear?” He put his hand in front of the dean’s face to show the coin and smiled.

“Eliot. I meant real magic.” 

Eliot looked away and put the coin quietly back into his pocket. 

“I..um… can’t…” He muttered.

“Yes, you can.” 

“I’m sorry….” He looked down at the floor. He brushed at his pants a few times in a failed effort to get more dust off. 

“Eliot.” The Dean was getting more and more angry. He sounded so irritated.

“Look, I just…” Eliot started.

“No! Do some God Damned Magic!” The Dean barked. 

“I can’t!” 

“Yes! You can!”

“No!” Eliot felt tears of frustration welling up in his eyes.

“What about the Kinnear boy? What about that farm? What about now?!”

“I didn’t kill him!!”

“Eliot, you and I both know the truth. Do it again.”

“No! I don’t want to kill anyone.” 

“Do it again!”

“No!”

“Do some damned magic!!” He yelled about a foot away from Eliot.

“No!” Eliot yelled holding up his hands.

The Dean flew back against the wall knocking a few books off the shelf and knocking some pictures off the wall. 

Eliot fell to his knees. 

The Dean slowly stood up and walked over to Eliot and put his hand on his shoulder.

“Good.” 

Eliot slowly looked up as a tear fell from his eye. 

“What?”

“You pass.” 

Eliot looked over and saw the photos and books on the floor. He reached over and picked up one of the books. 

“I’m sorry.” He shyly murmured as he set the book on the Dean’s desk. 

“Eliot, do you know why you’re here?”

“No.” 

“Eliot, you’re a magician.”

“I told you I’ve never done magic in my life.” 

“Not like the ones in Vegas, real magic.” 

“What?”

“Yes, you are a physical, your magic has a physical manifestation.”

“Ummm…I…” 

“Eliot.” The Dean interrupted. “We would like to offer you a spot here. This is a prestigious, first of its kind, here, school for magicians.” 

“What?” Eliot questioned sitting down in a chair across from the Dean’s desk. 

“It’s like a grad school but with focus on magic and how to control it and use it for good.”

“What about…?”

“Your family? Farm?” Fogg interrupted. “Your time here will be explained, they will be informed you are attending a prestigious college.”

“They’ll never believe that.” Eliot scoffed.

“They don’t have to believe the explanation if they choose not to but that will be explained.” 

“So, if I stay here…. Do I…Um…have to go home?” Eliot shyly stumbled through the question.

“Not if you don’t want to. We do have vacations like normal schools but you can do as you please in your time off.” 

“Can I stay here?”

“Eliot.” The Dean sighed and leaned forward on his desk.

“Look, I got out. They don’t get me. I can’t go back.” Eliot fought back the tears in his eyes. 

The Dean took a slow deep breath. “No, Eliot. You don’t have to go home if you don’t want to.” 

“Thank you.” 

“So, do you want to stay?”

“Yes. Please.” Eliot added the second word after a moment of silence remembering the manners he was lectured about. 

“Sign here.” The Dean slid some papers across his desk and handed Eliot a pen. 

Eliot slowly signed his name being sure that it was legible in case for some reason they could try to deny him based on his penmanship. 

He looked up and set the pen down and slid the papers across the desk. 

“Welcome to Brakebills, they will show you to your dorm.” He gestured to some people now standing in the hall.

“Thanks.” Eliot slowly let out. 

The Dean took the papers and added them to the stack on his desk and went back to work. It was like an average daily meeting for him and he just went about his day. Eliot was amazed. He had just been swept away from a barn hayloft to some school for magic. He had gone from wanting to end it all to wondering what all was in store for him. 

He slowly stood up. Brushed some more dust off his pants and walked towards the people in the hall.

“What’s up my brotha!” One greeted him and held up his hand. 

Eliot looked him up and down wondering what his deal was.

“Don’t leave me hanging bro.” He looked at Eliot as if to say ‘you know what this means.’  
Eliot slowly raised his hand and was met with a rather enthusiastic hi-five. 

“I’m Josh, this is Victoria. We’ll show you your dorm and the lay of the land.” 

“Thanks.” Eliot half smiled and followed them.

After a few moments they reached a big building. 

“Ok, so this is the freshman dorms, you’ll stay here your first year, after that you’re sorted into your specialty and if you fail, you’re out. Kinda sucks with the whole pass and fail deal but just don’t fuck it up and you’ll be good.” He laughed as he led Eliot into the building.

They waked up a few flights of stairs and took a left down a hallway and found a room. 

Eliot looked in and saw the room was pretty much bare. There were two beds, dressers and closets. 

“Yeah, the rooms are sorta lame but they’re not bad and it’s only for a year, then you get a house assignment or you go home so it’s not terrible.” He laughed again and turned around. 

“So, I don’t…” 

“Have any things?” Victoria interrupted. “Yeah no one does, you get your uniforms and your books here. It’s fine.” She said so matter of fact and turned to walk away. 

“So what do I do now?” Eliot called after them.

“Whatever you want bro.” He waved without turning around. He smelled of pot and day old laundry. 

“Ok.” Eliot mumbled to himself and went back into the room. He looked around and set his sweatshirt on the end of the bed he decided he would claim. He walked over and opened the drawers for the dresser and was surprised to find neatly matched pairs of socks and even some underwear and undershirts. 

He walked over to the closet and saw two pressed jackets, three dress shirts, three pairs of pants and saw two ties hanging on hooks neatly on the back of the closet door. He looked down to see a pair of shined dress shoes on the closet floor. He felt the sleeve of the dress shirt just to see how it felt and to make sure it was real. He looked over and saw two vests hanging on one side of the closet.

The shirts were soft and much like the ones that he saw in the fancy shops in town. He looked down at himself and saw how dirty his clothes were and almost felt ashamed. He debated changing into the nicer clothes so he wouldn’t be covered in dirt anymore but he didn’t want to risk getting the other clothes dirty. 

He looked around the room and saw a door that led to a small bathroom. He decided he would shower before exploring further. He was pleased to find soap and shampoo like in the hotels. He showered and put his dirty clothes in a small bag he found under the bathroom sink. 

He put the bag in the bottom of the closet. He took out the new clothes and got dressed. It felt good to be dressed how he liked. He stood in front of the mirror and debated on if he should try to put on a tie. They were the kind you had to tie yourself and he was never good at those. His mom had to tie the ones he’d wear to church or special events. 

He put on a vest and decided the tie could wait 

He slowly walked towards the door. Another person came walking in. 

“Oh, sorry.” Eliot said stepping back to get out of the way. 

“Oh, hi.” The man shyly said. He walked over and set a small bag on the other bed. 

“I’m um… Eliot.” Eliot shyly stated offering his hand to the stranger. 

“Hey Eliot, I’m James.” 

“Hey.” Eliot nodded and wondered if he should hang around or go explore the campus. He decided the latter would help him more. 

He walked out the door and down the hall and found his way outside. He looked around and almost wished he had a map of the place so he could see what was where. 

He walked over to a building and slowly opened the door. He walked in and saw lots of classrooms with various instruments in them. One looked like his high school science lab. 

He walked in and was quickly met with a woman. 

“Can I help you?”

“Oh, shit, sorry. Sorry, I …uh…”

“You’re new aren’t you?”

“What gave it away?” He looked down at the floor. 

“The lost look in your eyes, the clean fresh uniform, and you willingly walked into an open PA classroom.” She smiled trying to ease the tension. 

“PA?”

“Practical Applications of magic. The students here call it PA.” She shook her head jokingly. 

“Oh.” 

“It’s perfectly fine.” She smiled again and walked closer to him. 

“I’ll just go.” Eliot looked down and turned to walk away. 

“You don’t have to go.” She held out her hand and gestured for him to come into the room. 

“What is all this?”

“This.” She gestured towards the desk full of beakers and whimsical looking utensils. “Is just some of the many tools to learn various forms of spells and potions.” 

“Like the wizard books?” He asked hoping he didn’t sound illiterate. 

She paused for a moment and watched him. He tugged at his shirt and vest. The clothes fit him well, perhaps a little too well for his liking. He was slightly heavier than he wanted to be but he knew it was just how he was. 

He looked away hoping she hadn’t noticed his insecurities. 

“Yes. Like the wizard books, well kind of. They are a little different but essentially a similar idea.” She walked over to the desk and started to neatly organize the things scattered about. 

He looked around the room and then slowly turned to go. 

“Thanks for um, showing me around.” He offered as he reached the doorway. 

She was too busy cleaning to acknowledge him so he just quietly slipped out the door. 

“Eliot?” He looked down the hall to see the Dean was making his way towards him.

“Yes?”

“I see you found the uniforms.” He looked Eliot up and down. Eliot just stood there hoping he wouldn’t notice his awkward look. 

“Yes.” 

“How are you enjoying the school so far?”

“Well, so far I only found my room, my clothes and some random class.” 

“Ah, Sunderland. She is particular but you’ll learn a lot from her.” He smiled slightly trying to ease the tension. 

Eliot looked around wondering what to do. 

“Yeah.” He agreed somewhat awkwardly. 

“I’ll let you continue your tour.” He turned and walked away. 

Eliot slowly watched him walk away and decided to head back outside. Once there he saw several small gatherings of people. Some talking about the upcoming year and classes they wanted or didn’t want and others talking about what they did over their recent break or even up coming party plans.   
Eliot scoffed as he slowly walked back to his dorm. 

He sat on the bed and looked out the small window. 

“I’m not the type they’ll invite to parties. I’m just the fat kid they wished would go away.” He looked down at himself and saw the slight pudge from his stomach as he sat. He felt instant pain and debated on just breaking down and crying or finding a local shop for one of his favorite treats. 

“Damn it, that shit has to stop. If you keep doing this, you’ll be fat forever.” He slowly stood up and opened the dresser to find pajama pants and t-shirts. Both of which had the school’s crest on them. “Damn, they thought of everything, didn’t they?” He let out a small huff and changed into the pajamas. 

Those fit more how he was used to. Slightly big on him, thankfully. 

The door to the bathroom opened and his room mate walked out. 

“Oh, hey El.” He smiled and sat on the edge of his bed.

“Hey.” Eliot tried not to make eye contact with him. 

“So, did you see all the stuff you wanted to see?”

“Kind of. Just the building over there and the courtyard. Nothing special.” He brushed it off. 

“Cool. I went for a run, just got back. There’s a party tonight, you wanna go?”

“Ummm. No thanks.” He sat back and tried to get more comfortable. 

“Suit yourself.” He shrugged and got dressed. 

After a few moments James left to go to his party. Eliot wondered if he should go too but decided it’d probably be best if he just stayed home. He looked around the room and tried to think of a way to entertain himself. 

He walked out into the hallway and took a look around. The place was practically a ghost town. Everyone must have gone to their parties. He scoffed and went back to his room. 

He looked through the rest of his dresser drawers. Nothing exciting, underwear, socks, pajamas, undershirts. He walked back to his bed and slumped down on the floor. He let out a slow sigh before noticing a small box under the bed. It looked just like the one he hid under his bed at home. 

He slid it out from under the bed and slowly opened it. It was exactly like the box he had at home, or it was his box from home. Either way, he was happy to see it. He opened it and saw the familiar treasures of his Dirty Dancing movie, a few candy bars and the rings he bought at a small shop from the city. 

He slowly put the rings on.   
“No one can say shit about this here.” He smiled slightly. 

He went back to the closet to make sure the other clothes didn’t make his new clothes smell bad. He looked for the bag he hid but it was gone. In its place was a backpack with books in it. He picked it up and noticed a small laptop in it. 

He pulled out the laptop and decided to watch his movie. 

“I need this.” He settled in on his bed and started the movie. 

He pulled the pack of cigarettes and lighter out of his box. He decided to crack a window and have himself a smoke. It felt good to not have to hide it anymore. 

The movie finished and James still wasn’t back. 

He got up and decided to get something to eat. He walked down to the little store on campus and got some snacks and walked back to his dorm. 

“Hey!!” He heard a voice call from behind him.

He just kept walking. They must be talking to someone else.

“Hey, you!! In the pajamas!!” 

Eliot slowly turned around dreading what would come next. He sighed and stopped. 

“Hey.” The guy walked up to him.

“Um, hi.” Eliot tried to just get out of the conversation as quickly as possible. He just had a feeling this guy was going to make fun of him. 

“Whatcha doing?”

“I got snacks and now heading back to my dorm.” Eliot slightly snapped hoping that would end the conversation. 

“Why don’t you come to our party?”

“I’d rather not.” He rolled his eyes and started to turn to go. 

“Please?”

“Why?”

“Why not? It could be fun. Maybe you’d like it, and there’s food.” The guy smiled. 

“Yeah, tease the fat guy with food. No thanks.” Eliot looked away and started to head back inside. 

“Look. I know you’re new here, and if you don’t like being fat you could work out. Just walking around this campus a few times will burn shit loads of calories. Take a boat, go around the lake a time or two. But you can’t hide in your dorm forever.”

Eliot turned and looked at him. 

“Look, I don’t know why you even give two flying shits whether I come to your party or not but this little joke isn’t funny. Just go away.” Eliot could feel himself getting more and more frustrated. 

“Dude, we’re just trying to have a good time. Look, come if you want to or don’t. We’re in the cottage across campus. It’s one of the only open parties we have all year. The rest are invite only.” He turned to head back to where he came from. 

“Wait.” Eliot almost instantly felt like he would regret what he was about to say. “Why do you want me to come? Is it some kind of joke or something? Like hey, go get the fat kid?”

“No dude, just want to have a shit ton of fun and get wasted.”

He turned and walked away. Eliot turned and walked back to his dorm. He set the snacks on his nightstand. 

“I could go. At least it’d be hot food.” He looked around. He put on some dress pants and a shirt and a vest. 

He decided that was his new look. He made sure to put his rings on too. He put his cigarettes in his pocket and made his way across campus. He decided to have a smoke on his way.

He slowly walked up to the cottage. There were so many people there. He debated on just turning around and going back to his dorm. Just as he started to turn around the guy from the courtyard walked up. 

“Oh good, you made it.” 

“Uh, yeah.” He took another drag from his cigarette. 

“Come on in. Let me fix you a drink.” 

Eliot followed the other man into the cottage. There were people all over. The guy handed Eliot a drink.

“I’m Oliver, by the way.” He smiled. 

Eliot smiled and took another slow drag. “Eliot.” He practically purred as the smoke slowly escaped from his lips. 

“Nice to meet you Eliot.” 

The man smiled devilishly. He took Eliot’s hand and led him to the dining room where all the food was.   
Eliot tried to hide the fact that he was blushing. This was the first time a guy had taken any interest in him. He always figured he’d be alone forever since he had a clear preference for men and not many men would be interested in an overweight mess like him.

“Here, try this one, I made them myself.” He handed Eliot a small cake. 

Eliot looked at him almost questioning his motives. 

“Look, I don’t care if you think you’re fat. You’re not by the way. This is supposed to be a night of fun. Let’s just relax.” He smiled at Eliot as he took one of the cakes for himself.

Eliot smiled slightly and took a small bite. He had to admit it was really good. 

He finished it and finished his drink. 

He made small talk with those around him. Most assumed he was from a bigger city so he just went with it. He kept his secret quite well. No one ever guessed he was from anywhere near where he was actually from. 

He’d get asked if he was from New York, LA, Orlando and even asked once if he was from Canada. That night he was from all over, but not once was Indiana even mentioned. He loved it. They complimented his vest and rings. They smiled and smoked with him and made him drinks. He felt like how he always wanted to feel in High School. 

Oliver brought him another drink and he finished it rather quickly. He could feel his inhibitions going. He liked the feeling. He walked into the cottage and made himself a drink. It was a glorious green color. It was one that he’d heard about on a show he watched once, he always wanted to try it. He took a drink. It was missing something. He looked around but had no idea what he was doing. 

“Here, let me help with that.” A woman walked up and sprayed something in the drink. “There.” 

“Um….” He hesitated.

“Oh relax, it’s a mint spray. Try it.” 

He slowly took a drink. 

“Wow.” 

“I know.” She said so confidently. 

He looked at her and hoped he could be that confident one day.

“You’re welcome.” 

“What?”

“That’s why you’re staring right? To express your extreme gratitude?”  
“Sure.” 

“Well, you’re welcome.”

“Who are you?”

“Your worst nightmare, but most call me Margo.” She smiled and took his drink.

“Eliot.” 

“Thanks El.” She toasted him and walked away. 

He smiled as he watched her leave and made himself another drink, remembering to add the spray she used. 

He drank it and felt himself become the next level of drunk. Like the kind of drunk you hear about after you know you should go home but he didn’t care. 

“Eliot, hey.” Oliver greeted him again.

“Hey!” He felt so much more free. 

“So, what do you say we go and have a chat?”

“Ok.” Eliot smiled and grabbed another drink on his way to where Oliver was leading him. 

Oliver led him up to his room. He led Eliot over to his bed and sat down.

“You’re not like most guys are you El?”

“What do you mean?”

“I get the feeling that you are different.” 

“Different how?”

“You like guys.” He smirked. 

“Um…” Eliot looked away.

“El, it’s fine.” He paused and took Eliot’s hands. “Me too.” 

“Oh.” Eliot felt the blood rush to his face. 

“In fact.” He looked up and smiled. “I like you.” 

“Really?”

“Really.” He smiled. 

Eliot was speechless and felt his face get warm. He couldn’t hide his blushing anymore. 

He pulled Eliot closer to him. Eliot smiled and felt his heart beating faster. 

He wrapped his arms around Eliot’s waist. He slid his hands up Eliot’s side and hugged him tight. 

Eliot slowly wrapped his arms around Oliver. 

Oliver slowly stood up and kissed Eliot’s cheek. 

“Sorry.” He stepped back.

“It’s ok…I …kind of…liked…it.” Eliot slowly let out. 

“Really?”

“Really.” Eliot smiled. 

Oliver reached over and slowly slid Eliot’s vest off. He took off his shirt and smiled at Eliot. Eliot smiled back and slowly unbuttoned his shirt. He stopped and looked back at Oliver hoping that he wouldn’t see how insecure he felt. 

Oliver walked over and put his hands on Eliot’s shoulders. 

“Trust me El, you look fine.” He smiled hoping it would ease the tension. 

He pulled Eliot closer and kissed his neck. Eliot let out a slow sigh. 

Oliver continued to kiss him and reached down and undid his pants. Eliot felt his heart beating faster. 

“Have you ever done this before?” Eliot whispered. 

“Yes. You?” 

“Umm. Well…” 

“It’s ok, we can go slow. If you want me to stop…” 

“No.” Eliot interrupted. This was the first time he felt like it was ok that he could just be himself and like a guy. He could never do this at home with how his father treated him. 

“Good.” Oliver kissed him again. 

Eliot wrapped his arms around Oliver and felt his breathing get quicker and felt himself letting go. 

Oliver reached up and grabbed one of Eliot’s hands and guided it down his own chest and down to the waistline of his jeans.   
Eliot let his other hand follow and slowly undid Oliver’s jeans much like he undid Eliot’s earlier. 

He let the jeans fall to the floor. He looked down and caught glimpse of Oliver’s growing erection. 

He paused for a moment.

“Yes, El, I like you.” Oliver whispered as he continued to kiss Eliot. He traced kisses along his jawline and on his neck down to his chest. 

Eliot felt himself getting more and more turned on. 

Oliver led Eliot over to the bed. He took a step back and slid his boxers off. 

“Wanna try something?” He asked as he sat down.

Eliot was speechless and just slowly nodded. 

“Good.” He smiled. “Kneel down.” 

Eliot did as he was asked. Oliver reached over and put his hand on the back of Eliot’s neck. He pulled Eliot closer and kissed him. Eliot felt his heart racing. Oliver guided Eliot so he kissed his neck, then his shoulder, chest, stomach, waist then his throbbing erection. 

“Just do what comes natural El.” Oliver panted. 

Eliot didn’t say anything. He slowly traced his tongue from the base to the tip and swirled his tongue a few times around the tip. He could see the glistening trail his saliva had left. He repeated the action before taking Oliver’s length into his mouth. 

“Eliot.” Oliver groaned. 

He bucked slightly as Eliot ran his lips and his tongue up and down the length of Oliver’s erection. Oliver reached down and put his hands in Eliot’s hair and pulled slightly. Eliot groaned. He guided Eliot’s head up and down with gentle pulls and groans. 

After a few more bucks and groans, Eliot felt the warm salty liquid shoot into his mouth. He half swallowed and half let the liquid fall from his lips. He slowly moved back. 

“Damn El.” Oliver smiled. 

Eliot smiled happy for the sense of accomplishment and that this guy liked him enough to let him finally have that connection. 

“Ok. Now what?” Eliot asked still on his knees. 

“Nothing. You can go now.” 

Oliver laid back on his bed and covered himself up.   
“But, what about…” 

“Later.” Oliver interrupted him.

Eliot stood up and quickly got dressed. He left the room and ran down the stairs. He didn’t say anything to anyone just headed back to his dorm. 

He got to his room and ran in and closed the door. He was happy to find his room mate wasn’t home. He undressed and changed into pajamas and crawled into bed and cried. 

“Stupid fucking moron. Why would he ever like you? He just wanted some useless dumbass to fuck him.” Eliot cried in the dark. 

After a few minutes he sat up. 

“Fuck it.” He reached over and grabbed one of the candy bars out of the bag. He slid out of his bed down onto the floor. 

He sat there crying and eating his candy when he heard a soft knock on the door. 

“Go away!” He wasn’t in the mood to see anyone. 

“No! Let me in!” 

“Who are you?”

“Margo!”

“Go away!” He was especially in no mood to see anyone from that party. 

“No.” 

He didn’t respond. He heard the knob jiggling and a few clicks and scratches. After a few minutes of the random clanking and such the door swung open.

“What the fuck?”

“Relax.” 

“No! You just fucking broke into my room!” 

“Yeah and you’ll thank me later.” She slowly walked over to him.

“What happened?”

“I don’t want to talk about it.” He scoffed and went back to eating his candy.

“But you clearly want to eat about it.” She snapped. 

“Look, you broke in. If you don’t like what I’m doing, just leave.” He snapped.  
She sat down on the floor next to him.

“Clearly something is up. Talk to me.” 

“He…just…” Eliot tried not to cry. 

“Had his way with you then told you to go?”

“What?!” Eliot tried to hide his shock at how scary accurate she was.

“Look, I know what emotional eating looks like and I know what some dick does to guys like you.” 

“You don’t know anything.” He snapped.

“Or I know more than you want.” 

“Fine. Say that’s what he did do. What do I do now?”

“First, share the candy.” She reached over and grabbed the candy bar from him and smiled as she took a bite. 

“Then?”

“Then we get you happy.” 

“Yeah, good luck bambi.” 

“Bambi?”

“Skinny, pretty girl with big eyes… bambi.” He said without even blinking. 

“I’ll take it.” She smiled. “So what do you say we make you sexy?”

“I’m not sexy.” 

“Not with that attitude.” She snapped her fingers and looked at him. 

“Well, I’m not.” 

“Then we make you sexy. What do you want?”

“To not be so damned fat and to not suck.” 

“Well the fat you talk about we can work on and from his groaning, you sucking could be a very good thing.” She laughed. 

“Shut up.” 

She smiled at him.   
“Look, I don’t know what it is but you seem like a great guy and don’t deserve that shit. I can help you diet and next party that bastard throws you’ll be amazing and he’ll be jealous and wish he could have you.” 

“I don’t know about that.” He looked away.

“I do.” She grabbed his chin and gently made him look at her. “Look, I used to be a little bit of a fatty too, it’s fine, but we don’t have to be.”

“Why do you want to help me?”

“I don’t know. I like dorky guys with awkward problems and feel the need to fix people.” She shrugged. 

“Ok, so what do I do?”

“Walks, salad, and less candy. Oh and if you’re going to keep drinking, should probably work on the diet.” 

“Why?”

“Let’s face it, no one wants to stop drinking, alcohol is fun, so we work on the other parts of your diet so alcohol can stay. Eat less pizza and candy, drink more cocktails.” She laughed. 

“Ok. I’ll do your little diet. Do you really think it’ll work?”

“I lost weight with it. I’m sure you will.” She slowly stood up and reached out her hand. 

“What?”

“Come on.” She reached down and took his hand. “Let’s go. I’m taking you out.” 

“What?!”

“Pizza place just outside the wards, it’s amazing and the perfect last pizza before your diet in the morning.” She pulled him up. 

He followed her out past the courtyard and through a small alleyway. They found a small restaurant and walked in. 

“Hey Margo!!” The older guy greeted her like she comes here all the time. 

“Hey Tony. My usual and a pepperoni for the guy.” 

“Anything for you Margo!!” He smiled and went to the back. 

“What the hell?”

“I like my pizza. No one knows but it’s my jam.” She smiled and settled into a small booth in the back corner. 

He slowly sat down across from her. 

“So, what is this place?”

“Tony’s.” She smiled as a thin guy set two drinks down in front of them. She took a drink. 

“They didn’t ask about drinks.” Eliot stated looking at the glass. 

“Margarita’s, it’s my usual.” 

Eliot took a drink. They brought out the plates of pizza. The slices were huge like the shows on television. 

Eliot smiled and happily ate the pizza.

Margo finished hers first but Eliot wasn’t far behind. 

“So?”

“It was good. Some of the best pizza I’ve ever had.” Eliot smiled finishing his drink.

“Good.” Margo smiled. “Ok back to school before curfew.” 

She stood up and set a twenty on the table. 

“How do you….?”

“I come here a lot.” She interrupted. She saw Eliot’s look of concern. “Relax, that covers us both and a nice tip.” She took his arm and pulled him towards the door. 

He followed her back to the alleyway and back through the courtyard and to his dorm. 

“Get some sleep. I’ll meet up with you in the morning and we can start your diet.” She hugged him. 

He smiled and hugged her back.

“Thanks.” 

“Don’t thank me just yet. It’s work, but yes, you’ll thank me when it’s done.” 

“Ok.” Eliot turned and went into his room. 

“Night El.” 

“Night Margo.” 

“Hey El?”

“Yeah?”

“That nickname, the one you called me earlier, that wasn’t meant to be mean right?”

“Well…” He felt bad for calling her that now. It usually was an insult where he was from. 

“It’s ok.” She looked away. “Well, I kind of liked it, I say we make it a good thing. Cute girl, big eyes.” She smiled. 

Eliot laughed.

“If you say so.”

“Hey, you could either be insulted by the stupid shit of the world or own that shit like the boss bitch you are.” 

“Oh my God.” Eliot laughed.

“So what do you say?”

“Ok bambi.” 

“Gratzi Daddy.” She smiled.

“Daddy?” Eliot laughed.

“Yeah, what vapid girls call their hot boyfriends. We’ll make you all sexy and they’ll wish they could call you daddy.” 

“Wow Margo.” Eliot laughed and was at a loss for words. 

“Get some sleep El.” She smiled and hugged him again.

“Thanks bambi.” He smiled and hugged her back. 

She turned and walked away and he watched her for a few minutes before walking back into his room. 

He laid down in his bed and quickly fell asleep.

The next morning came quick. He felt the sun on his face and slowly got out of bed. He dug through his dresser and found some sweatpants and a shirt. 

He heard a knock on the door and walked over and opened it. 

“You ready?” Margo was standing there in tight yoga pants and a fitted tank top holding a bottle of water. 

“Damn, you just fit that look don’t you?”

“I own it.” She smiled. 

“Ok. So what’s first?”

“A nice jog around campus. This place is huge so it should be a good workout.” 

The two went for a run then did sit ups in the courtyard. 

It was the most physical activity Eliot has done since high school gym class. 

“So, how do you feel?”

“Tired.” Eliot said between breaths.

“Good. That means it’s working.” She smiled at him.

“Well if tired means it’s working, I’ll be thin in no time.” He said still catching his breath.

“Ok, that’s good for today.” She smiled as they headed back towards his dorm. 

They sat and talked about starting school and wondering what kinds of things they would learn.

“I don’t see myself as magic.” Eliot chimed in.

“I have done things here and there but mostly just messing stuff up.” 

“Like what?”

“Like firing little ice chips in the heat of summer, knowing things about people based on a crazy instinct stronger than intuition.” 

“Wow.” 

“What about you?”

“I have no idea.” He looked away. 

“You have an exact idea.” She prodded.

“I think I killed a guy.” 

“What?”

“Yeah….”

“Ok, spill.” She took a seat on the bed.

Eliot paced as he told his story.

“So, there was this kid, Logan Kinnear, he was a bully. He taunted me and beat me up. He hated me so much. Always saying shit and beating me every time he got the chance. Well, one day I was walking down town, I bought myself a candy bar, eating my emotions on a professional level.” He paused and looked at Margo. She said nothing and just watched him. 

He continued pacing. 

“He was across the street. I looked over and saw him and was furious. I just knew he would torture me if he saw me. I looked at him and just thought ‘god I wish you’d just be gone, just die’. Next thing I knew I saw a bus coming down the road. I thought ‘that’s it, ‘just walk in front of a bus’ and he did. Bam.” 

He stopped pacing.

“Oh my God. El.” 

“Yeah. I know.” He looked away.

“That’s bad ass.” 

“What?”

“He tortured you. He deserved it. You can’t control it.” 

“I’m the one who thought the thought and made him do it.” 

“Maybe, but had he not tortured you so much you wouldn’t have thought that, so he did it to himself.” She smiled at him. “Can’t blame you for defending yourself the only way you knew how.” 

“Yeah, I guess.” 

“You can’t blame yourself El. Yeah, it happened, and yeah, you may have, or did cause it but he deserved it. You were tortured by him and he had it coming.”

“Yeah.” He resigned. 

“You can’t keep blaming yourself El. Yeah it happened but it’s not your burden to carry.” 

It was the first time he had told anyone about that day and the first time he felt defended and valued. 

“Thanks Bambi.” He smiled.

“No thanks needed El.” She smiled and stood and hugged him. “Ok, we both need a shower. Let’s shower and go grab lunch before classes start tomorrow.” 

“Sounds good.”

She practically skipped out of the room, well it was more of a sashay but she owned every step. 

Eliot got in the shower and then styled his hair. 

He looked in the mirror and was actually happy. 

He got dressed and went out into the courtyard to wait for Margo.

“Hey daddy.” Margo walked over and wrapped her arm around Eliot.

“Bambi.” Eliot smiled. 

“So, what sounds good for lunch?”

Eliot looked around and thought for a moment. 

“Yea, I’m thinking the same thing El.” Margo chimed in before Eliot could even speak. 

She took his hand and led him across the courtyard. 

They walked to the pizza place from the other night. 

They talked and laughed and ate. After a few hours they headed back to the school. 

“So, how do you feel about class tomorrow?”

“I have no idea. I mean on one hand kind of excited but on the other hand it is school, but it’s magic, but its’ class and tests and I just don’t know if I’ll be good.” Eliot looked away. 

“Well, you best figure it out El cause if you don’t pass they kick you out and wipe your memory. I’ve heard they have people specially trained to wipe your memory so clean you don’t remember one second of this place.” Margo slowly took a sip of her drink.

“Damn.” 

“Yeah.”

“Hey Margo?”

“Yeah?”

Eliot took a slow deep breath trying to figure out how to say what he was thinking.

“I can’t leave here.” He looked down at the floor. 

“What do you mean?”

“Where I’m from, it’s not so great. I can’t go back home.” 

“I’m sure you’ll be fine El. Classes haven’t even started yet. You could be a natural at this shit.” She finished her drink and set the glass on the table. 

“I hope so.” Eliot sighed. 

“You’ll do fine El. We should get some sleep. I’ll see you tomorrow after classes.” 

“Deal.” 

The two slowly headed back to the school. Margo led him back to the dorms and they went to Eliot’s room.

“Thanks Margo.” Eliot smiled.

“No thanks needed El. Get some sleep and I’ll see you tomorrow.” She smiled as she walked out of the room in the classic model like way that she did. 

He turned out the lights and settled in for the night. 

After a while he heard a loud crash.

“Shit!!”

He got up and realized it was just James. 

“What the hell?”

“Yeah, I know it’s late. Thanks dad.” James snapped.

“Are you high?”

“Why? You mad or just jealous you’re not as cool as I am?” He stumbled into the room and plopped down onto his bed. 

“No, I’m just mad you didn’t share.” 

“What the?”

“Yeah, I enjoy a little get away every now and then.” Eliot snapped back at him. 

“Ok well, that lamp is broken and I’m going to sleep.” He laid down and was almost instantly asleep.

Eliot slowly cleaned up the broken pieces of the lamp and went back to bed. The sun had just started to rise. Eliot rolled his eyes and laid back down. 

After a few hours there was a light knock on the door. 

“Eliot!!” 

“Huh?” He mumbled still waking up.

“You’re going to be late!”

“Shit!” He shot out of bed and quickly got dressed. He put on his pants and shirt and grabbed his vest and jacket. 

The door opened and in walked Margo. 

“Need some help there?” She asked watching Eliot fumble around. 

He put the tie around his neck and looked at himself in the mirror trying to remember how to tie it. 

“Let me help.” Margo walked over and stood in front of him. She grabbed each side of the tie and started to tie it while saying something under her breath. “There!” She stood back and smiled as Eliot looked in the mirror, it was a different knot than the ones his mother would tie for him, it was so fancy and sophisticated. 

He smiled and put his vest on and grabbed his jacket. The two headed out to the courtyard and towards the building with the strange classroom Eliot saw the first day he got here. 

They walked in and headed towards the different rooms they were told to go to. Eliot walked in and sat at a desk towards the back of the room. 

The professor walked in. 

“Hello students. In this class you will be learning the fundamentals of magic and how to control your emotions. The first lesson is emotions are tied to your casting. You must learn to harness your emotions or you can hurt yourself or someone else.” He paused and looked over his class. 

“Now, you were all given the textbook for this class. Now, please open to page 5. There you will see popper 1. A basic starting formation to all casting.” He paced back and forth as he talked. 

Eliot stared at the pictures and tried to get his hands to mimic the actions shown. He read the descriptions and was trying to figure out how to do the things the book described. 

“Mr. Waugh!” The professor’s voice snapped him back to reality. 

“Uhhh… yeah?”

“Come down front please.” 

“o….k…” He hesitated as he slowly closed his book and made his way to the front of the room. 

“Great. Stand here.” He gestured to Eliot for him to stand in front of his desk. 

“Ok.” Eliot stood where he was told. 

The instructor pulled an apple out of his bag and handed it to Eliot.

“Hold it out.” He gestured for Eliot to hold the apple at arm’s length. 

Eliot slowly did as he was asked.   
The professor did a few hand motions and produced a small bolt of lightning. 

“You nervous?”

“No, I’m usually threatened with electricity at 9:15 on a Monday morning.” Eliot quipped. 

“Good.” 

Before Eliot had any time to react the professor shot the lightning across the room and shooting the apple from his hand. 

“Shit.” Eliot instinctively shook his hand in shock. 

“Accuracy is key. If your emotions are not controlled you could easily hurt someone.” He turned and faced the class. “This is something you must learn. It’s not easy and we do have therapy available to all of you so that you can learn to control your emotions.” 

Eliot just stood there. 

“You may go back to your seat.” He gestured for Eliot to go sit back down. “Now for your homework.” He turned and pulled up one of the screens in front of the chalkboard.

“Read chapter one, study poppers one through five. There will be a test next week.” He turned and walked behind his desk and closed his book. 

Everyone slowly gathered their things and slowly walked out of the room looking like they had just witnessed a murder. Eliot wanted to know more. He stood up and walked to the front of the class. 

“Sir?”

“Mr. Waugh, what can I do for you?”

“Umm….”

“I didn’t hurt your hand, did I?”

“Um, no, it’s not that. It’s just that…” Eliot paused and ran his hand through his hair. “I want to know how to do that thing you did. The lightning thing.” Eliot fumbled through his question. 

“In due time Mr. Waugh.” He put his book into his bag and got ready to go. 

“Also…can you…umm..please…call me….Eliot?”

He slightly smiled. “Sure.” He put his bag on his shoulder and started to walk out of the room. “Best head off Eliot or else you’ll be late for your next class.” He turned to head out the door and Eliot turned and headed the other way. 

Eliot walked into a room a few doors down. 

He sighed as he took a seat in the back. He looked through his bag and found the book for this class. 

“Basic Magic: Practical Applications 101” Eliot mumbled to himself. 

He opened the book and thumbed through a few pages looking at the pictures. 

“Eliot?”

Eliot looked up and saw Margo. 

“Hey Margo.” He smiled up at her. 

She sat down in the desk next to him. 

“What are you doing?” She looked over at him thumbing through the pages of the book.

“Mostly just looking at the pictures.” He chuckled. 

“Anything good?”

“This guy made fire.” He turned to show her the book. 

“Me make fire.” Margo imitated the stereotypical caveman.

“Hey, it could be useful. Want a smoke, no lighter, no problem.” Eliot laughed. 

“Ok. Fair. I don’t smoke, not good for the skin, but you do you.” She smiled and examined her nails. 

A small group of students walked in and all awkwardly found their spots. 

After a few moments a thin blonde lady walked in. 

“Good afternoon students.” She set some things down on the desk. “I am professor Sunderland.” She smiled as she ran her hands over her jacket to press out the few slight wrinkles. 

She began her lecture talking about how the class was going to be an introduction to the practical side of magic and spell casting and potions. Like high grade wizard sounding ideas. 

She talked about how the stars and planets alignment and even emotions can mess with your casting and your methods of potion creation.

After what seemed like some odd combination of a long time and not nearly long enough to fit all that information into her lecture ended and the students were dismissed. 

Eliot slowly gathered his things and put them back into his bag. He slowly stood up and made his way out of the room. He was almost the last one out of the room. 

He walked down the hall towards the door to the courtyard. 

Not too long after, Professor Sunderland followed him. She stopped as they got to the building before the dorms. Eliot pretended not to notice but he couldn’t help but wonder if it was coincidence or on purpose. 

He walked into the building and to his dorm. As he opened the door he was greeted by James. 

“Hey Eliot.” He sighed.

“Happy to see you too.” Eliot snapped as he walked over to his bed and sat down. 

“How were your classes?”

“Not bad.” Eliot answered. 

“Cool. Mine were kind of mundane but it sure as hell beats math and science.” 

Eliot lightly chuckled. Mostly just to be personable. 

“So, about last night….” James started.

“I’d rather not talk about it. You did stupid shit, broke a lamp and passed out. It’s over with and honestly, I’d rather not discuss it.” 

“Ok.” James rolled his eyes and sat back. “No talking about it. As you wish.” 

“Look, I don’t have time for your snarky shit. I can’t get kicked out of here. I’m stuck with you for this year and then we get our houses. So I just have to do well in these classes and then not get kicked out.” Eliot snapped. 

“Ok dude, calm down.” James relented. 

“Sorry, I’m just stressed. You have no idea.” 

“Try me.” 

“I’d rather not.” 

“Is this about that guy you blew that blew you off?”

“What the… no!”

“Chill…” 

“No!! How the actual fuck do you even know about that?”

“He told me. He said some freshman blew him and wasn’t that great. And well you’re the only guy who went to his room that night.” 

“Shut up.” 

“Hey, I’m just trying to make conversation.” He held his hands up.

“Fuck you!” Eliot stood up and ran over to him. He reached out and pushed James against the wall. “You will never mention this ever again! Ever!” 

“Dude, calm the fuck down.” 

“No! Fuck you and your little shit eating ways.” 

“Damn, all this just cause you blew some guy.” 

“No, I was tricked by some dick into doing things with him. He’s a manipulative little dick and so are you. You mention this to anyone and so help me I will find a way to get you kicked out of here.” 

“You can’t.” 

“Oh, I’m sure the dean would love to hear about your drug problem.” 

“Yeah, just like he’d love to hear about your drinking.” 

“Drinking isn’t illegal you little shit.” 

“Everybody self medicates.” 

“Yeah well not all with illegal shit.”

“Shit, calm down.” 

“Look, just don’t fuck this up for me.” Eliot pushed him against the wall then let him go just to emphasize his point. 

“Ok. I’ll leave you alone.”

Eliot walked back to his side of the room and sat on his bed. He opened his book and started reading. 

James sat in silence. Eliot didn’t pay much attention to what he did. 

After a while Eliot finished reading and got up to go get something to eat. 

He walked out into the courtyard and towards the other building. He saw a group of students gathered outside. 

“Hey, is there a place to eat here?”

“Yeah bro. In that building over there.” They pointed to the building behind Eliot.

“Oh. Ok. Thanks.” Eliot walked into the building and found a cafeteria. 

He walked over and ordered a sandwich and sat down to eat. 

“Eliot?”

Eliot looked around to see who could be calling him. 

“You’re that kid from class right?”

Eliot turned to see a thin, frail and shy looking kid making his way towards the table. 

“Yeah. That was me.” Eliot relented. 

“Hey, I’m Mark.” 

“Hey.”

“Can I sit here?”

“Sure.” 

Mark took a seat and the two of them ate lunch. They made small talk about class and starting school. 

At the end of lunch they parted ways and Eliot made his way back to his dorm. 

He was pleased to find James had gone out. 

“Good. Peace and quiet.” He sighed. 

“Not to mention the safety of all lamps in the immediate area.” 

“What the fuck?” Eliot jumped.

“Relax, it’s just me.” Margo walked out of the closet.

Eliot started laughing.

“What’s so funny?”

“You just came out of the closet. I thought that was my job.” He laughed. 

“Wow. Ok El.” Margo smiled. 

“Why were you in there anyway?”

“You weren’t here so I got bored and organized all your clothes. Matching ties with vests and such.” She passed it off like it was normal. Like everyone reorganizes their friend’s closet when they’re bored. 

“Ok Margo.” Eliot laughed. 

“So, where’d you go anyway?”

“I was hungry so I got a sandwich.” 

“Oh. Ok.” 

“Why?”

“Well, it’s time for our afternoon workout and then dinner.” She stated so matter of fact like it was a well established schedule they’d done for years.

“Ok.” Eliot slowly agreed and got changed into his workout clothes. 

Margo took her sweater off to reveal she was in her tank top. 

“Ready?”

“Sure.” Eliot hesitated. 

“Good.” Margo led the way and Eliot followed. They walked down the hall and went down several flights of stairs. 

When they got to the bottom they went down the hall and saw a gym. 

“Oh good, inside this time.” Eliot smiled. 

“Yeah. We can do all kinds of stuff here.” 

“Ok.” Eliot sighed as they started their workout. 

The schedule was very similar for the next few days. New classes and lessons and reading followed by work outs when they could fit them in. Margo was much more used to this kind of thing but Eliot was getting used to it. 

After a few weeks of this routine he could start seeing that he was losing weight and starting to feel better and the work outs were getting easier. 

“I’m so proud of you for sticking with this El.”

“Thanks Bambi.” Eliot smiled and wrapped her in a hug. 

“So, what’s our plan for tonight?”

“Well, possibly dinner and maybe a movie?”

“You sly fox.” She purred. 

“Relax, it’s just pizza and Dirty Dancing.” He laughed.

“You charmer.” She laughed as they made their way back to the dorm. 

They made a habit out of hanging out in Eliot’s dorm. James was hardly ever there. No one was sure where he went but he commonly didn’t show up at the dorm for days at a time. No telling on if he was in class or not. Turns out Margo’s room mate was just anti-social and kept to herself. Not that Margo minded much but she preferred to pass the time with Eliot. 

Mid-terms were quickly approaching and with the past few weeks Eliot had hardly noticed how quickly the time was passing.

“El, you got a study partner?”

“No, on my own. You?”

“Solo.” She sighed. 

“Well, we can study what we can together.” She suggested and smiled pulling a small stack of note cards from her purse. 

“Notecards? Really? You don’t strike me as the notecard and study type.” Eliot laughed taking a seat on the bed. 

“Yeah, well we do what we gotta do and you are super stressed and if I can help, I will.” She smiled and sat down beside him.

They started studying the cards Margo made and quizzed each other.

They talked and laughed until late into the night. 

“Shit, El it’s like 3 in the morning.” Margo laughed.

“Damn.” Eliot tried to hide a yawn.

“Ok, study session over.” Margo slowly stood up and stretched. 

“Yeah.” Eliot slowly organized the books and papers into a neat stack.

“So, how do you feel about the tests?”  
“Still freaked out. I can’t leave here.” Eliot drifted to all seriousness. 

“I know El.” Margo ran her hand through his hair. 

She smiled at him and he half smiled back.

“You got this El. You’ll be fine.” 

“I hope so.” 

“Let’s get some sleep, tomorrow’s a long day.” She grabbed her purse and headed towards the door. “Night El.” 

“Night. Thanks Margo.” 

The morning sun seemed to rise super early. Eliot slowly opened his eyes and let out a slow sigh. 

“This is it.” He muttered to himself and slowly got up and shuffled his way to the bathroom to get ready. 

He brushed his hair and washed his face. He walked out and got dressed making sure his clothes looked as nice as possible as if appearance was part of the grading curve. 

He gathered his books in his backpack and headed off towards the classroom. 

Just as he made it to the hallway he saw Margo.

“Margo!!”

“He El. You ready for these tests?”

“I certainly hope so.” He sighed.

The two walked a little ways in silence, both probably thinking the same thing, they hope they pass. 

They made it to the classrooms and after a quick hug parted ways to their respective classes to take their first test of the day. 

Eliot walked in and sat at one of the desks towards the back of the room. The professor walked in and addressed the class. 

He slowly handed out packets to each student. Eliot could feel his heart beating faster as the professor got closer. 

He handed Eliot a book and a few pages of paper.

“You will have an hour and a half for this exam, you may begin.” 

Eliot looked down at his test and saw the list of questions. 

“Please, let me pass this.” He whispered under his breath as he read the fist question.

The first few questions were easy to him. He kept going and it was all stuff that he knew. He remembered the tests he took in high school where it felt like all the questions were things he never learned before. He almost questioned if this was one of those things where it felt easy but all his answers were wrong. He hoped that wasn’t the case. 

He kept going trying to ensure he would have enough time to finish the test. 

“Fifteen minutes left.” 

He looked down. Seven more questions to go. He took a deep breath and started writing his answer to the essay question. 

He finished the last question and slowly stood to walk to the front of the class to turn it in. He noticed a few other students still writing. 

He set the test on the desk with the others. 

“Thank you Mr. Waugh…um Eliot.” 

“How long till we know if we….you know…passed?” Eliot slowly let out. 

“Trust me, in due time, you’ll know.” 

Eliot stood there for a moment wondering if the professor understood his frustration. 

“But, I ….” The professor held up his hand.

“You’ll know soon enough.” He dismissed Eliot and went to grading some papers. 

Eliot sighed and walked out of the classroom. He made it out to the hallway and let out a slow deep breath trying not to cry. 

“I can’t get kicked out.” He mumbled as he paced back and forth in the hall. 

He paced for a bit longer before he slowly made his way to the next test.

The professor gave a similar speech as the first one telling the whole class how many of them would not be there next semester.

The bit of comfort in this one was Margo was also in this class. 

The two sat at desks next to each other. This class had a written part and a practical part. 

Eliot took his time with the written part. He watched as others finished the test, went to another room and then left the class. 

Eliot finished the last question and slowly walked to the front of the class to turn it in. 

He looked back and saw Margo still writing. 

He walked into the other room with the professor.

“Ok, now for the practical part of the exam. We have learned several small spells and incantations this semester. This part of the exam you are to demonstrate two of these spells and tell how they can help you in your everyday life. “

“Ok.” Eliot stood there and thought for a moment. 

“You may begin when ready.” He sat down on the table and took out a small notepad. 

He wrote a few things down as Eliot took a few deep breaths. 

“Ok…” Eliot started. “Fire, it can help with…like…candles… and cooking.” Eliot stumbled through vocalizing his answer. 

“Fire can be useful.”

“Yes.” 

“Care to demonstrate?”

Eliot knew he was waiting for him to do the spell. Eliot walked over to the candle and placed it in front of him. He took a slow deep breath and slowly started doing the hand motions and saying the spell to himself. 

Nothing happened.

“Shit.” Eliot whispered.

“Why didn’t it work Mr. Waugh?”

“I…uh…ummm.” Eliot looked away. 

“Well?”

“I don’t….” Eliot started. 

“You do know.” He snapped. 

“I didn’t think it’d work.” 

“Exactly.”

Eliot slowly sighed.

“Again.” 

Eliot took a deep breath and started again. 

He did the motions and said the spell. A spark. 

“Mr. Waugh, if you can’t do it then we can call this test over.” He sighed and slowly stood up.

“No! Please.” Eliot practically pleaded. 

“One more chance.” He sat down and slid the candle towards Eliot.

He did the motions and said the spell. Fire. It worked.

The professor wrote a few things down in his notebook. 

“Ok. Spell two.” He said taking the candle off the table. 

Eliot took a step forward. 

“Lightning.” 

“As you wish.” He gestured for Eliot to do the next spell.

“It can be useful to fight or defend yourself.”

“Demonstrate.” He said as he wrote a few more things down. 

Eliot did the motions and said the spell to himself. 

He held up his hand and it worked. 

The professor wrote some notes down.

“Thank you. You may go now.” He gestured towards the door. 

“Did I pass?”

“You’ll find out soon enough.” 

Eliot was beginning to hate that statement. Finding out within an hour wasn’t soon enough for Eliot. He needed to know he would be ok and that he wouldn’t have to go back to the life he had before.

He slowly walked out of the room and down the hall. 

He stopped for a moment to see some photos on the wall. He didn’t know who these people were but he knew he didn’t want to go home. 

He walked towards the door and made his way to the courtyard. He sat on the wall and decided to wait for Margo. 

After about twenty minutes she still hadn’t come out. He began to fear the worst.

“Maybe that’s what they meant by finding out soon enough. Maybe you find out right away if you didn’t pass. Margo had to pass. She was smarter than he was. What if she didn’t? Could he really go on here, without her?” His thoughts were spinning out of control. 

He took his cigarettes out of his pocket and lit one. He took a few slow drags to try and calm himself down. 

He kept looking back every time he saw someone come out of the building. 

He finally saw Margo. 

“Margo!” He ran over to her. 

“Jesus El, we both took the same test, calm down.” She joked. 

“Yeah but I was waiting for you forever.” 

“Well, I’m here now so relax.” 

“How did you do?”

“About as ok as I could I suppose.” She shrugged. 

“I guess we’ll see.” Eliot sighed. 

“We got this El.” Margo tried to comfort him. 

The two walked back to their dorms. Eliot just laid on his bed and looked through a magazine Margo had left there a few nights before. 

After a few moments he heard a small knock on the door. 

“Yeah?”

Without any answer the door slowly opened.

“El?”

“Margo?”

“I think we need to talk.”

“Ok…” He slowly let out. 

“What happens if we don’t pass?”

“They have some specialist erase our memories and we get kicked back to reality like some harsh side character in the big ‘Dirty Dancing’ finale scene.

“What?”

“Background characters who just want to be part of the whole thing but are cast aside and not ever mentioned again.” 

“Ok. Well we can’t let that happen.” 

“What do you suggest Margo? It’s not like we can hack the system and change our grades like in high school.”

“True. But we have to do something.”

The door burst open and slammed against the small desk across the room.

“Expelled. Ha! Like you will actually expel me?!”

“We can and we will James. Now, gather your things and follow me.” The Dean sounded more stern that any of them have ever heard before. 

“What’s that guy’s deal?” Margo pointed towards the door. 

“He is … or rather he was… my roommate.” Eliot sighed. “He was an ass. Was kind of hoping this would happen to be honest.” 

“So when do you suppose we will find out our grades?” 

“My guess is soon.” Eliot muttered as he turned towards the window. 

“What the hell?”

“I don’t know.” 

They both looked out the window to see a small gathering of students. Some were chatting and catching up while others were being led to another building. 

The door burst open again, snapping the both of them back to reality. 

“Eliot? Margo?” A man called from the doorway.

“Yes?” They answered, almost in unison.

“Follow me.”

“Shit!! No, they can’t kick me out.” Eliot practically pleaded.

“Well, if they’re kicking you out then I’m going too.”

“You can’t kick us out.” Eliot tried again.

“Relax kid.” The man started walking, leading them outside. 

“Relax? Relax?! I can’t relax!! You bring me here, show me what’s possible then just like that it’s all over? No!” Eliot didn’t even take a breath between statements.

“Relax.” The man stopped and turned to face them. 

Eliot had become speechless. He just stood there and stared at the man and tried to fight back the tears in his eyes.

“You’re not getting kicked out.” He looked over at Margo. “And neither are you.” 

“Then what’s going on?” Margo tried to be the voice of reason. 

“Your disciplines. You will be sorted by your discipline of magic and given your housing assignments.” 

“What about those guys?” Eliot pointed at a small group heading the opposite direction.

“They did not pass their exams and will be asked to leave.” He said so matter of fact. 

“Oh.” Eliot sighed a small sigh of relief that he was among the group that passed. 

The man led them to one of the classrooms where a thin blond woman stood in the front. 

“Come in.” She waved her hand to welcome them to join her. 

She took out some small glasses and had some trinkets sitting on the desk. 

She handed Eliot some rocks.

“Think the alphabet backwards, in Arabic.” 

Eliot looked at her confused and just instinctively tried to recite the alphabet backwards in his head.

“No. Nothing.” She took the rocks and set them on the desk. She picked up a plant and handed to him but almost immediately took it away. 

“Hmmm. What about?....no…not knowledge….no…” she muttered to herself as she looked through the things on the desk. 

Eliot looked down and saw a small marble rolling back and forth. He watched it for a moment. He looked up to see the woman staring at him.

“Of course. “ She smiled and wrote something down in her notebook. 

“What?” Eliot heard the clack as the marble hit the floor.  
She bent down and picked it up. 

“Physical.” She said handing Eliot the marble.

“Ok.” He looked confused. 

“You’ll get a tour of your housing in a few days.” She smiled and went back to organizing her things.

Eliot looked around and tried to figure out if he should go.

“You’re dismissed.” She said as if she was reading his mind.

“Thanks.” He stuck the marble back in the pile of things on her desk and slowly walked out. 

He took a seat on the small wall outside and decided to have a smoke. 

“Hey El.” Margo walked up behind him and sat down. 

“Hey.” 

“So what did they say you were?”

“Physical.” Eliot scoffed.

“Me too.” 

“Really?”

“Yep. Looks like we get to share a house.” Margo laughed. 

“Works for me. Less walking to visit.” Eliot grinned.

“What do you say we go grab some lunch?” Margo smiled and stood up.

“Sure.” Eliot stood and followed her to the cafeteria. 

The two ordered sandwiches and spent lunch talking about their hopes for their future house. They agreed that it just had to be far better than the dorms. 

“Well, to be fair, at that party we only saw the downstairs and I saw one room.” Eliot cringed at the thought. “God, I hope I’m not stuck in that room.” He shook away the thought. 

“Didn’t he get expelled?”

“Really?”

“Yeah, I heard he got caught blowing some guy by the fountain and Fogg caught him and kicked him out on the spot.” Margo seemed to have the inside scoop on everything. 

“Serves him right.” Eliot snapped as he finished his chips. 

The two of them talked and spent the whole afternoon together before eating dinner and heading back to their respective dorms. 

It had been an eventful day so Eliot decided to change into his pajamas and head to bed. He heard a bit of commotion in the hall but just chalked it up to students partying since they passed. 

He rolled over and tried to ignore it. 

After a few more minutes someone came crashing through his door. They got him up and put a silk bag over his head.

“What the?..” Eliot screamed.

“Relax, you’re fine.” The guy tried to somewhat comfort him. 

They led him outside and through some grass, over some rocks and onto more grass before pulling the bag off. 

“Greetings first years!”

The other students looked around and tried to figure out what was happening.

The man in front stamped his staff against the small platform he was on. Everyone looked towards him. 

“As I was saying. Greetings first years. There is no need to scream, the faculty are all on luxury vacations and they are well aware of what is going on. Here, this is tradition. Every first year must complete these challenges to proceed to year two.”

“Isn’t that what the tests are for?” Another student chimed in.

“Yes, but there will still be more of you to leave us. Over the next several hours you will be faced with a series of challenges meant to weed out those not strong enough to make it here. Welcome to the trials. Please report to the library to get your team names.”

Eliot followed the others while looking for Margo. He felt someone grab his arm. 

“Margo?”

“Hey El.” 

The two walked closely until they reached the library. Inside they walked up to a few small tables.

“Name?” 

“Eliot.” 

“Eliot what?”

“Waugh, Eliot Waugh.” 

“Ah, here you are.” She handed him a card. “Team Frisky Pheasants.” 

“Ok…” Eliot turned and walked into the next room. 

They were given a small book and materials placed on a table. 

“You will have until midnight to complete the spell in front of you. Those who do not complete this test will be eliminated. Good luck.”

Eliot looked at his other team mates who quickly opened their books and began reading. 

“So, what do we do.” 

“We have to complete this spell using the things we were given. The book tells us how to figure it out but it’s all in some code.” 

“Ok. So maybe we should see what we have.” The one stood up and took his own sort of inventory. 

Eliot opened his book and started reading. He looked up to see the others had organized their materials. 

“Ok, so first we need the three powers.” Eliot grabbed the small bottles.

“There’s an order to it.” One of them stopped Eliot before he could pour the first vial into the bowl.

“Ok. What first?”

“This one.” The other picked up the vial an poured it in. 

They slowly made their way through the book.

“Time’s up.” A man stood next to their table.

Eliot looked at the other two then back at the man. 

He waved his hands and did a small motion as the bowl slowly started to glow. 

“Well done.” He set the bowl down and started to walk away. Eliot looked back at his other team mates to see one of them was missing.

“What about?”

“Only the strongest move on.” The man waved his hand and walked away. 

“Damn.” Eliot muttered under his breath. 

“Congratulations to those of you who passed. Now, for the next challenge you will be paired off.”

Eliot slowly stood up and walked towards the door. 

Margo walked up and grabbed his arm. He turned and hugged her. 

“Thank god.” He sighed. 

“You two, here are your supplies, please head out to the courtyard.” A lady handed Margo a box and pointed towards the door. 

Margo and Eliot slowly walked down the hall and to the outside. 

They walked over to the small fountain and sat on the edge of it. 

“Ok. So let’s see what we won.” She slowly opened the box to find two ropes, a small can of paint and a letter. 

“Ok, most messed up prize ever.” Eliot quipped. 

Margo reached in and took out the letter. 

“The pair will strip down and bare all while tied with enchanted rope. Once your darkest secret is revealed you will fly free.” 

“That doesn’t sound ominous at all.” 

“Well, I guess here goes nothing.” Margo handed Eliot the card. “Look, instructions. Step one, strip naked.”

“Excuse me?” Eliot gasped.

“Yep. Strip down pretty boy.” Eliot looked up to see Margo already almost stripped. 

“Um….Ok…” Eliot slowly stood up and stripped. 

“Ok, step two the paint.” 

“What do we do with that?”

“Mark each other.” 

Margo took the can and drew a line under each of Eliot’s eyes and a line down the center of his forehead. She handed the can to Eliot who drew two long lines from Margo’s cheekbone to her jaw. He then put a dot on her chin and a long line on her forehead. 

“Ok, now the ropes.”

Eliot bent down and put the can back in the box and grabbed both ropes and handed one to Margo. He tied her hands and she tied his. 

“Ok. All that’s left is a deep and dark secret.” Margo looked around and took a slow deep breath. 

“Secret….right.” Eliot looked around hoping he could somehow get out of it. 

“Ok. Look. I am not as put together as you think.” Margo stopped and looked at the ropes still bound around her wrists. “I had a rough childhood. Bounced around from home to home. Not exactly belonging.” She looked down. Still nothing. 

“Same here. I didn’t exactly fit in.” Eliot looked down, still there. 

“Yeah, well you weren’t an outcast raised by your gossip loving aunt cause your mom was too strung out to care for kids.” Margo felt her ropes fall to the ground. She looked up at Eliot who was looking down.

“No, I was an abused farm kid from Indiana who’s parents beat him if he showed any sign of being queer who just wished I could be from anywhere else in the world so I worked hard at becoming someone else.”

He looked up as a tear fell from his eye. He saw Margo’s rope on the ground and felt his fall. He wrapped Margo in a hug before feeling a stabbing pain in his back that brought him to his knees. 

“Eliot?”

“Margo…” He fell and felt a horrifying pain all over. 

Margo let out a scream as she fell to the ground. The two practically blacked out. 

They awoke feeling a rush of air in their face. Eliot looked over to see a goose beside him. He was flying. 

“Holy shit!” he thought but vocally only came out as a loud honk. “Margo!” another honk.

Something honked right after him. It was the goose beside him. 

“Margo?” another honk.

“Eliot?” She too honked no matter what she thought. 

The two flew next to each other for what felt like an eternity. 

They landed on a snow filled field. 

“Oh good fresh meat.” A voice called out in a thick Russian accent.  
“Shit, shit, shit, shit.” Eliot honked as he scurried towards the light. 

He saw a group of other geese scuttled in the same direction. 

“Come. Come in and get warm. You get warm and I won’t have to see your terrible goose flesh anymore.” The man snapped as the last of the group hurried in. 

Eliot felt himself getting warmer and it felt like his wings were spreading and like his legs were stretching out. It felt like he had been wrapped in a hamster ball and could now stretch out. 

“Good you’re finally starting to be human. Put robe on and meet at the table when you’re done.” The man snapped as he walked past. 

Eliot looked around the room and saw others actually changing from goose to human. It was rather disgusting. Some looked like humans with awkward wings, some like humans losing feathers. He looked over and saw Margo wrapping herself in a robe. 

“What the actual fuck was that?” she shivered and walked over to Eliot.

“I don’t know.” He shuddered.

Margo handed him a robe and he pulled it tight over himself. 

The two walked inside and felt the warmth. 

After a while the rest of the group joined and sat around the table. 

“Good. Finally. Eat.” Plates were placed in front of each of them. They all slowly ate the food in front of them and were thankful it was warm. 

They finished eating and slowly stacked their plates. 

“Good. Now sleep, you’re useless when tired. Tomorrow we start.” 

They slowly stood and made their way down a hall, each claiming a room. There were clothes laid out on the bed. 

Eliot changed into the clothes and climbed into bed under the blankets. 

He started feeling more and more tired and let himself fall asleep.


End file.
